Sports Governance Workshop

Assessing the culture of sport

Page Contents

Summary

Following a number of high profile reports into bullying and athlete welfare in sport, this Sports Governance Workshop will look at the key questions around culture in the sector. This half day workshop will assess the current state of culture in sport, and offers an in-depth look at the best practice for measuring and managing culture. Delegates can take away learning from other sectors, and discuss how to practically apply them in their organisation, as well as focusing on what the future of governance in sport will look like. We bring together insights from a number of experts, providing a broad range of perspectives and drawing on experience from both in and beyond sport.

Programme

Time

Programme

08.30

Registration, tea and coffee

09.00

Chair’s opening remarks

Louise Thomson FCIS, Head of Policy (Not for Profit), ICSA

09.05

Measuring and managing organisational culture

It is easy for organisations to claim they have a great culture, one of excellence, inclusivity and shared values, but how do you know for sure? We have seen a number of high-profile governance failures in sport which have not just derided the supposed values of the organisation but have negatively impacted the sports themselves. Here, as ICSA launch a report on organisational culture in sport, we will discuss the key findings and look at which conclusions, if any, are unique to the sector.

Craig Beeston, Policy Officer (Not for Profit), ICSA

09.40

Case study: sport in the spotlight

Cases involving perceived failures of governance in sporting bodies have gained both prominent media and political attention. Using real life case studies we will look at what happens when questions are asked of the culture of sport, the governance implications of operating under intense media scrutiny and the impact this has on stakeholders.

Dr Geoff Walters, Senior Lecturer in Management and Director of Birkbeck Sport Business Centre, Birkbeck, University of London

Dr Richard Tacon, Lecturer in Management, Birkbeck, University of London

10.10

Managing reputational risk

It takes a lifetime to build a good reputation, but you can lose it in a minute. Negative publicity is a significant threat to any organisation and therefore an important concern of the board. Here, we address the importance of building risk management into governance frameworks and how to appropriately allocate resources.

Anthony Fitzsimmons, Chairman, Reputability LLP

10.40

Break

11.00

Lessons from other sectors

Self-evaluation can be a useful tool, but there is greater benefit in learning from the approach of others. In this session we will look at how organisations in the corporate and charity sectors have reacted under scrutiny and how they have sought to improve their own governance, as well as the lessons sport can take from them.

Radojka Miljevic, Partner, Campbell Tickell

11.30

The board’s role in changing organisational culture

As the Peter Drucker saying goes, “culture eats strategy for breakfast”. The culture of an organisation can become deeply embedded over time, and changing it is no easy task. Here, we will assess the key aspects of bringing about change and the challenges that come with breaking the status quo.

Rowland Jack, Founder, I Trust Sport

12.00

Closing keynote address: setting a standard for the future

Allegations of bullying, the introduction of the Code for Sports Governance and the Duty of Care Review have made it clear that sport cannot rest on its laurels. There is more to be done, not just through codes and reviews, but through shifts in culture and behaviour. In this session we will take a look at what the future looks like for governance in sport and the role of sporting bodies in ensuring progress continues.

12.30

Final remarks and close of workshop

*This is a draft programme and may be subject to change.

Speakers

Craig Beeston, Policy Officer (Not for Profit), ICSA

Craig is a Policy Officer at ICSA where he works on the not-for-profit sector, focusing on the Institute’s work on sports governance. He researches and produces guidance on aspects of governance in sports organisations and contributes to the Institute’s output on a range of related topics.

Prior to ICSA, Craig carried out published research into the methodology of international rankings of public service delivery for the ESRC and into blame management strategies employed by office-holders in times of crisis on a project funded by the Centre for Analysis of Risk and Regulation at the LSE. He also worked for a number of years in research roles in the public sector.

Anthony Fitzsimmons, Chairman, Reputability LLP

After reading engineering at Cambridge, Anthony Fitzsimmons became a solicitor specialising in international liability and insurance law. He spent decades in a firm specialised in handling major disasters nationally and worldwide. He refined strategies to manage the legal fallout from crises whilst minimising reputational damage to clients. He advised major brands in the wake of severe adverse events.

Following his retirement from the law, Anthony founded Reputability LLP (www.reputability.co.uk) of which he is Chairman. Anthony is a co-author of ‘Roads to Ruin’, the seminal Cass Business School report on corporate failure for Airmic and, with the late Derek Atkins, of "Rethinking Reputational Risk: How to Manage the Risks that can Ruin Your Business, Your Reputation and You". Anthony is a specialist in reputational risk and its organisational and behavioural drivers, as well as in related areas of board governance. Described as a "major-league blogger", he is a regular speaker and participant in seminars in the field.

Rowland Jack, Founder, I Trust Sport

Rowland founded sports governance consultancy I Trust Sport (www.itrustsport.com) in 2013. The company is dedicated to improving international sports governance through collaboration, working with International Federations, institutions, sponsors and individuals. Recent client work includes conducting comprehensive governance reviews of sports federations, both Olympic and non-Olympic.

In 2015-16 Rowland was employed by UK Sport, helping to develop the new Code for Sports Governance.

Before taking on his role as a sports governance consultant he worked in sports marketing and communications for more than 10 years in several countries, including at six editions of the Olympic Games, summer and winter. He has previous experience with an International Federation and started his career at Sport England.

Radojka Miljevic, Partner, Campbell Tickell

Dr Radojka Miljevic is a Partner at Campbell Tickell and has been with the company for over 11 years. She has over twenty years of management and research experience across a number of sectors and particular expertise in governance, strategy, research and facilitation.

She has co-authored a code of governance, the governance standard for a regulatory framework, a book of governance problem cases and handbooks for Board members. Among her clients have been a range of Sport-England funded organisations, as well as regulators in other sectors, including the Welsh Government and the Charity Commission.

Dr Richard Tacon, Lecturer in Management, Birkbeck, University of London

Richard Tacon is a Lecturer in Management at Birkbeck, University of London. His research interests are in sport governance, social capital, sport policy, sociology of sport and organisational ethnography.

His research has appeared in various journals, including Sociology, Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, European Sport Management Quarterly and the International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics. He teaches postgraduate courses on Sport Policy and Development, Sport in Society and Qualitative Research Methods and is Co-Director of the Birkbeck Sport Business Centre.

Louise Thomson FCIS, Head of Policy (Not for Profit), ICSA

Louise is Head of Policy (Not-for-Profit) at ICSA. Louise has worked at ICSA since 2001 where she is responsible for promoting, supporting, representing and developing the profession within the not-for-profit and public sectors. She has produced codes of governance for not-for-profit organisations and NHS clinical commissioning groups, research documents in NHS governance, guidance notes and best practice guides relating to governance, compliance and administration, and highlighting the pivotal role the company secretary plays in any organisation.

Louise has 20 years experience of working in, and with, charitable and NHS organisations and has gathered valuable insight into the governance challenges facing boardrooms as a charity trustee, school governor and pension trustee.

Dr Geoff Walters, Senior Lecturer in Management and Director of Birkbeck Sport Business Centre, Birkbeck, University of London

Geoff Walters is Senior Lecturer in Management and Head of the Management department at Birkbeck, University of London. His research focuses on organisational governance, specifically in the non-profit sporting context. He is interested in the role of the board and draws on process based methodology to help understand how boards function.

His research has appeared in leading journals including Non-Profit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Business History, Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, and European Sport Management Quarterly. He teaches postgraduate courses on Sport Governance and the role of the board, as well as a course on Sport Events. He is also Co-Director of the Birkbeck Sport Business Centre.